That was more fun than the first game. Houston, behind a strong 1st inning, wins 7-3.
*Those seven runs mark just the 7th time the Astros have scored that many runs.
*Even with four runs in the 1st inning, the Astros have still been outscored 21-27 in the 1st.
*J.A. Happ threw 6IP, 5H/2ER, 4K:3BB, WP. That's the 3rd consecutive start that Happ has thrown 6+ innings, and marks back-to-back quality starts. In his first four starts of the season, Happ went for 23.1IP, 24H/18ER, 15K:12BB. In his last four starts, his line is 23.1IP, 24H/10ER, 17K:10BB.
*Mark Melancon came in with a 7-2 lead, and allowed 2H/1ER in 1IP. It's the first ER Melancon has allowed since transitioning to the 9th inning, and it was the first time since April 23 - eight appearances - that he had allowed two hits in an outing.
*With another walk-less appearance, Melancon has now faced 24 batters without allowing a walk.
*With home runs by Hall, Downs, and Lee, the Astros hit three homers in a game for the first time this season, and for the first time since July 30, 2010 - a span of 101 games.
*Lee was 2x4 on the day, giving him an eight-game hitting streak, and five of those have been 2-hit games. Congratulations to him, for getting his 2000th hit.
*Bill Hall was 2x4 with 2RBI, and that's the first 2RBI game since April 17 for Hall.
*Brett Wallace was also 2x4, with two doubles and a walk. That was his first XBH since May 3 - when he hit a homer at Cincinnati.
*How about a pinch-hitter alert? Brian Bogusevic reached when he got HPBed - giving him an even .800 OPS (.333/.467/.333). Matt Downs, with a pinch-hit HR (the first PH HR of his career), has an OPS of .848. Jason Michaels was 0x1, dropping his OPS to .282.
*For a bat off the bench, Michaels seems to forget his bat. He's 2x20, and both of his hits have come in starts, so he doesn't actually have any pinch-hits this season.
*Humberto Quintero got another 0x4, and his OPS dropped under .600, to .595. This is the 3rd-lowest OPS among catchers with at least 50 PAs in the NL (Brian Schneider - .545, Josh Thole - .559). Which makes you wonder why, with an .844 OPS, is J.R. Towles still only playing twice a week?
*Man of the Match: How about Brett Wallace?
*Goat of the Game: Quintero, man. Get it together.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
